Suzuki V Strom 650 XT 600 mile day ride and Review

[@neilmackinnon3371]

I am more than happy with my 2015 650 VStrom, bought in 2020. On mixed fast / medium / slow roads I get around 230 miles from full to the first flashing warning, that usually means there is a round 5 litres left in the tank, which is useful when it comes on a few miles out from the Humber Bridge. Best average I have seen was 72.7 mpg using E5 recently, worst was around 68 running E10 and using the throttle...erm, enthusiastically! I agree that the VStrom 650 is somewhat overlooked, but they have a large and very loyal following, I think with good reason.

[@adaptableadventurerider]

Hi Neil thanks for taking the time to comment that's handy to know with regards to fuel from flashing I ran mine down to two bars each time then filled up. Yep I was amazed at how efficient it was even when winding her on very economical. I'd say it currently rates at my top modern bike I've had so far.

[@neilmackinnon3371]

@@adaptableadventurerider I've been riding over 40 years and the VStrom is my first Japanese bike. I have had newer bikes in the past, my 850 Commando was only 18 months old when I bought it, but this is the first modern era bike I have owned. I did my research before I bought and for what I want it is perfect. As I said on the ABR forum I tried a Tiger 660 last week but I think the only bike that I would replace my VStrom with would be a more modern VStrom. Either that, or I will just keep it. Wishing you many happy miles.

[@adaptableadventurerider]

@@neilmackinnon3371 Thanks Neil I actually said similar to my dad the other day long term keeper the Vstrom has the fun nature my 650SS has which really impressed me. Hope you enjoy the Norton content the 1927 Norton flat tanker has been amazing to ride just waiting for the magneto to come back after a 10 mile push the other week due to a previous owners bodge inside the mag housing luckily managed to get a newly forged end casting for it. You to :)

[@coconuciferanuts339]

@@neilmackinnon3371 There is something endearing about the humble v-strom650.Had my '17mod.for over 4 years now.Gotta be careful with weight but fun to ride,economical,low maintenance,great commuter etc.

[@markt5426]

Hi Mate, Glad you enjoyed the ride up to Moffat and surrounding area. 👍

[@adaptableadventurerider]

Thanks mate 👍 was a really good trip looking forward to doing Fort William in a few weeks.

[@gabbiano2346]

Great video mate 👍🏻 i will hopefully buy one of these bad girls in the near future

[@adaptableadventurerider]

Thanks mate glad you enjoyed it :) hopefully should have another video coming next Tuesday on ADV stuff I've put a full review up on the Channel of the 650xt as well should be on the video section called full review 👍

[@gabbiano2346]

@@adaptableadventurerider I'll surely watch it later, subscribed btw. Keep up the good work

[@adaptableadventurerider]

@@gabbiano2346 Thanks! :)

[@gabbiano2346]

@@adaptableadventurerider hey Norton just wanted to let you know that i brought home my first ever bike: a brand new 2022 vstrom 650 xt, and you helped me a lot with the choosing process. Cya in the roads mate!

[@adaptableadventurerider]

@@gabbiano2346 No problem at all :) enjoy the ride and have fun!

[@nyedavis922]

My experience with the Himalayan would suggest to steer clear. Mine was plagued with reliability issues, my friends is the same. Numerous head gasket issues, awful brakes, fuelling issues, premature bearing failure. They're just not as well made as the Japanese stuff. (In before someone pipes up about ItchyBoots)

[@adaptableadventurerider]

Thanks Nye always good to hear from people that have experience of them thanks for taking the time to comment :) hopefully at some point a few other brands give us some longer stroke single cylinder bikes.

[@drewmorg.]

That's a great lookin wind screen.

[@adaptableadventurerider]

Thanks! I really rate it for reducing the buffeting on the peak of the Arai Tour X4. Made by Puig :)

[@oswold100]

Cracking as ever love to have a run out wi yer top job😊

[@adaptableadventurerider]

Thanks David really appreciate the comment glad you enjoyed hopefully I'll have a new gopro mount for the next video although it's great for the Nortons was far to low for the V-Strom :)

[@johnnycigarettes3325]

Nice to see you enjoying the bike. Does your rear caliper have a bit of play in it? As in a couple of mm movement if you try and move it around. My 2022 650 xt has this movement in the caliper and it seems strange

[@adaptableadventurerider]

Hi Johnny they may be floating calipers I'll double check mine in the morning and let you know.

[@johnnycigarettes3325]

@@adaptableadventurerider Thank you. It quite possibly is. I have never seen this used on other stroms so it threw me! Thanks again and enjoy the ride

[@adaptableadventurerider]

@@johnnycigarettes3325 np at all :) you to! I'll pop a reply in the morning

[@johnnycigarettes3325]

@@adaptableadventurerider Morning. Caliper is floating (single piston) so it will be designed to move in towards the disc slightly and back out again. Can you please check the fore and aft movement? Mine wiggles fore and aft a couple of mm which seems very odd. My other bikes with floating rear calipers don't have this "play". It almost seems the mounting holes on the caliper are too wide for the bolts if that makes sense.

[@adaptableadventurerider]

@@johnnycigarettes3325 Will do I'll go check it for you now :)

[@drewmorg.]

Dude please another video vs the 1000 XT and 1200 GS. I am currently in the market for all of these bikes and have done ridiculous hours of research!

[@adaptableadventurerider]

No problem at all leave it with me and I'll do one of me talking about the issues I had with the 1200 gsa more info on the 1000xt vs the 650 etc lemme know if there's anything in particular you'd like me to cover!

[@drewmorg.]

@@adaptableadventurerider please cover highway miles at 80mph and fuel economy on those bikes. mainly street manners. and yes reliability of the GS is a big deal. From your perspective then, would you recommend a 2014 GS with 75k miles on the clock? Well maintained California bike. $6999 USD!!

[@adaptableadventurerider]

@drewmorg I couldn't really recommend a 2014 year as they had a few issues mine spent 7 months in the workshop which was an issue where as I've never had a problem with the 5 Suzukis I've had inc superbikes and 80s classics been the most reliable bikes I've had. over here we are limited to 70mph so I tend to ride at 60 on highways when covering long distance tons of speed cameras so just not worth it especially with me insuring all the classics as well :) gsa's are great for highway miles though huge tank range the paralever suspension is epic, but I found the seat height a pain on some off the tracks we have over here and very narrow roads where even hanging of the seat it was a stretch to get one leg down an thats with me being tall where as with the 650xt both feet down no problem even on massive off camber tracks or roads. The cruise is a nice feature on the 1200gsa if specced and they are really comfy. The corrosion is a huge issue over here on bmws as is spare part prices but at the time mine was only 2 years old I did 20k n it lunched alot of parts first day I had it the speedo assy failed that was a £1500 part under warranty then thanks to a dealer screw up the bmw went through 3 engines and then had a fd replaced for corrosion. Had surging issues with constant throttle and the ESA would lock itself up usually at the worst moments (that was fixdd by a software update) I'd deffo check out two websites, ukgser and advrider the gsa section on there I'm a bit out of touch with the current issues or what's been resolved. I belive the 2016 on had alot of issues fixed. When the 1250 came out the first few years of those had issues to. I'd speak to as many people as you can all brilliant bikes but all have pros n cons and what fits me is the 650xt but that might not fit you for high speed highway riding where as a gsa or 1000xt might be better but then the bigger bikes suffer on mpg so sometimes it's best to slow down n take in the scenery can ride for longer as its less fatiguing and better for economy. Best advice I can give even if it means traveling to do it get to some dealers and take all the bikes out for a day :) riding them will answer your questions straight away.

[@drewmorg.]

@@adaptableadventurerider I read and appreciate every word of that. Thank you buddy. And yes the fact that GS(GSA in your case which I know are taller yet) was a stretch even at your height also worries me. I am 5'10 with a 32" inseam and to be honest would love a shorter more manageable bike. All of my bikes (R6, 450L enduro) have been tall so I'm used to it but still it's not any less annoying. Vstrom 650 do seem to fit the bill and honestly I love the 3rd gen (I'd go for alloy wheels though) and I like the 3rd gen's small refinements. Regarding high speed highway here in California I'd honestly consider it a safety factor. I'm almost at the point of even thinking bikes don't belong on our highways because of how crowded and crazy they have gotten in terms of size and speed. It's a genuine concern of mine. On top of that you pretty much have to ride 45+ minutes on UBER slab at high speed to get somewhere different and interesting, and the "scenic route" is not always available. It is an odd and demanding set of combinations we have here. It's very easy for a bike to fall into the "impractical toy" haha

[@GIDDYUPADVENTURES]

Buy a HAMA microphone for your GoPRo. It cuts down on engine noise, wind noise. I couldn't understand most all of your audio.

[@adaptableadventurerider]

Thanks Giddy yep I'm hoping to get a adapter to take one over the next few weeks before the next trip a few people have mentioned the Hama to me. Usually it's not to bad with the Nortons but didn't work well with the VStrom going to look at mounting the camera higher as well. If you skip towards the end I did some talking off the bike about my thoughts on the Vstrom :)

[@GIDDYUPADVENTURES]

@@adaptableadventurerider Yeah, the Hama is great because most other microphones have 10ft of cables but the Hamma is only 6-7 inches long and it is stiff flexible wire , so when you position it it stays put. Some say Hama is quiet, but since it is right by your mouth it works great. I am renting a V-strom to ride around Croatia, Italy, this summer.

[@adaptableadventurerider]

@@GIDDYUPADVENTURES thanks :) really appreciate the reply that's handy regarding cable length. Sure you will enjoy the Strom brilliant riding bikes.